A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to apparatuses and systems for dispersing a substance, such as water or various chemicals, over an area where application of such substance is believed to be beneficial. In particular, the present invention relates to such dispersing apparatuses and systems that are configured to effectively and efficiently disperse a substance over a large area. Even more particularly, this invention relates to such apparatuses and systems that utilize rotary atomizers and fans to disperse the substance.
B. Background
As generally well known, there is often a need to disperse a substance over an area to benefit persons, animals or plants in the area, to treat the land or crops growing on the land or to achieve other beneficial objectives. For instance, at a gathering of people in an outdoor area during warm or hot weather, it is well known to disperse water, in the form of a mist, over the area to cool the people who are at least generally in the sprayed area. Such systems are commonly utilized at outdoor restaurants, concerts and like outdoor gatherings. Substance dispersing systems are also utilized by those in the business of raising animals and crops. For instance, those in the business of raising milk cows know that higher ambient air temperatures generally reduce the production efficiency of the cows. Because it is usually neither practical nor economic to maintain the cows in an air conditioned facility, during the summer months milk cows are substantially exposed to the hot ambient air temperatures. Shading and various cooling devices and systems are utilized in an attempt to cool the cows and maintain the desired level of milk production. Horses and other animals also benefit from efforts to keep them cool during hot weather. Plants, particularly crops, also benefit from attempts to maintain their temperature in a more desirable range so as to prevent exposing the plants to freezing or very hot temperatures.
In addition to attempting to regulate or at least partially control the air temperature, substances are dispersed in an area to accomplish other objectives. For instance, the area where animals are raised or where they otherwise reside benefits from the dispersion of substances to kill flies and other pests and/or substances that can reduce the odor associated with the animals. Crops and other plants benefit from the dispersion of pesticides, nutrients and/or other beneficial substances onto the plants, on the ground where the plants grow or in the general area of the plants. Water and other fluids are commonly dispersed in construction sites or other dusty areas as a means of dust control. Areas also benefit from the dispersion of fire suppression substances either in anticipation of an approaching fire or to control a fire that is burning. Urban areas are known to benefit from the dispersion of antiviral agents and/or substances for controlling mosquitos, flies or other pests. Numerous other substances can be dispersed in an area to achieve certain, usually specific, benefits.
The use of a dispersing apparatus to disperse a substance over an area is generally well known. Outdoor areas where people gather commonly use misting apparatuses to disperse a very fine mist of water to cool the ambient air temperature. Ideally, such apparatuses are configured such that the mist is so fine that it substantially evaporates in the air before it contacts persons in the area to prevent those persons from getting wet. A common configuration for a misting apparatus comprises a source of pressurized water that is directed through a spray nozzle. To achieve the desired fine mist, a pump or other pressurizing device is utilized to pressurize the water and the nozzle is configured with a discharge that results in the fine spray. In addition to the requirement to pressurize the fluid, the water or other fluid that is used for the mist must be very clean, often filtered, to avoid clogging or damaging the spray nozzle. Due to the requirement of having a very clean, non-clogging fluid, most conventional mist sprayers are not suitable for dispersing substances other than water or substances that are completely soluble in water or other liquid. Conventional misting apparatuses are also not suitable for dispersing a substance over a large area, such as an area where cows are being raised, a large group of people are gathering or where crops or other plants are being grown. Use of such systems would require significant initial and ongoing costs to purchase a large volume of misters, pressurize the fluid and clean and/or replace nozzles as they become clogged.
One prior art livestock cooling apparatus, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,599 to Terrell, et al., comprises an electrically-powered fan having a fan blade and fan motor mounted in a fan enclosure which is attached to a fan yoke that allows the user to change the angle of the fan enclosure and, as a result, the direction of the air stream created by the fan. The fan yoke connects to a drive shaft supported within a bearing means that is attached to a support means, which may be a structural member of a livestock protective structure, such as a barn or shade structure. The patent also describes use of a mist ring, which has a plurality of nozzles attached thereto, at the front or discharge opening of the fan enclosure for injecting water droplets into the air stream of the fan. A pump, connected to a pump motor, provides pressurized water to the nozzles that can result in a drench, mist or fog. The patent discloses the benefit of using very small diameter nozzles and supplying the water at high pressure to obtain extremely small water particles that results in cool animals with little wetting of the animal's hair-coat and virtually no wetting of the animal's bedding. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,578,828, 6,675,739 and 6,883,251, each also to Terrell, et al., disclose livestock cooling systems that utilize the above-described cooling apparatus. As with the misting apparatuses, the cooling apparatus and systems of the aforementioned patents require high pressure pumps and small diameter nozzle openings and, as such, they are likely to have the same issues with regard to costs and clogging and being limited to spraying substantially pure water or other liquids or substances that are completely soluble in water or other liquid.
Improved sprayers and associated spraying systems for dispersing a fluid over a relatively large area have been developed and are in use. One such apparatus is the SMI® Polecat Evaporator available from SMI Evaporative Solutions of Midland, Michigan, which are commonly, but not exclusively, utilized to throw a water spray for producing snow or to evaporate away unwanted water. These and similarly configured sprayers atomize water for the spray with a plurality of nozzles, such as thirty such nozzles, at the discharge end of a powerful spray mechanism that is capable of throwing a spray over 200 feet from the discharge end of the apparatus. The nozzles are configured to introduce the atomized substance into the air stream created by the spray mechanism. As such, this type of sprayer requires a pump to supply pressurized fluid, such as an optimum operating pressure between 80 and 100 psi, to the apparatus. To avoid plugging the nozzles, such sprayers are typically used with one or more water filters to filter the water prior to the nozzles. For purposes of attempting to cool a large area, such as an area where cows, other animals or people are located, these sprayers have certain disadvantages, namely spraying too much water, plugging of the nozzles and requiring a pump and filter.
Another mechanism for atomizing water is a rotary atomizer, such as available from Ledebuhr Industries, Inc. out of Williamston, Mich. In general, rotary atomizers utilize have a two-stage atomizing process. Fluid enters the atomizer and is spun around the inside of the atomizer basket and then discharged out the atomizer through a holes on the side of the basket. The typical rotary atomizer does not require pressurized fluid, thereby eliminating the need for a pump, and does not have any nozzles that can be plugged, thereby generally eliminating the need to pre-filter the fluid. Another benefit of rotary atomizers is that they are typically better suited to atomizing substances which are not completely soluble.
What is needed is an improved apparatus for dispersing a substance over a large area. Preferably, such an apparatus should be configured to efficiently and effectively spray a substance over a large area to affect the temperature of the area, treat the area or otherwise beneficially affect the area. A preferred apparatus will not require the use of pumps to pressurize the fluid and will not have nozzles that are subject to clogging, thereby eliminating most filtering requirements. The preferred apparatus should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, relatively easy to operate and be suitable for use in typical outdoor environments.